The invention relates to a system for evaluating applicants for financial accounts and particularly, to a method and apparatus for automatically analyzing the applicants' credit bureau data, financial account information and demographic data to evaluate the financial account applicants.
Known methods of evaluating financial account applicants do not take advantage of technological tools. In particular, when a financial institution receives from a potential customer an application for opening a financial account, a financial institution employee must first verify the applicant's identity, then call or contact electronically a credit reporting bureau to get credit rating information for the applicant, and then call or contact electronically an account verification system to get information relating to present and past financial institution accounts held in the name of the applicant. Based on this information, the employee must then make an independent decision whether the financial institution will open the account for the applicant and what kind of products or services to offer the applicant.
The lack of a centralized method and apparatus for conducting credit bureau and account information investigations as well as determining whether to offer the applicant the product or service in question creates a great deal of inconsistency within the financial institution in this decision making process. For example, different employees of the financial institution may evaluate the credit bureau data and account information differently. This could result in the financial institution accepting more risk than it actually deems desirable, or alternatively, turning away customers needlessly. Moreover, even if the applicant is accepted, the financial institution employee may not be aware of other products or services that the financial institution would like to offer to the customer, or may simply neglect to offer such products or services.